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Well, if you wanna go big, Texas is THE place! So, a big Texas “welcome” to Cigars International (CI), a cigar retailer who does things…well…bigger! In 2017 STG announced the expansion of CI into Texas to include 2 new stores. The first of these opened to the public on September 22 followed by its official grand opening last week in The Colony, TX, just north of Carollton and the Dallas Metroplex on Hwy 121. The 6,000+ square foot retail location features over 1,300 cigar brands, well-ventilated indoor (and outdoor) lounges festooned with flat-screen TVs and a full service bar aptly dubbed “Club Macanudo.” As a cigar-loving Texan just a short 4-hour trek from CI’s new digs, I’m eager to see the superstore first hand.

Cigars international (CI) began as a private US company which was bought out by Swedish Match in 2007. Their acquisition of tobacco behemoths, General Cigar and Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG), gave Swedish Match over 30% control of the US Cigar market. Their subsequent need for a large US sales channel brought them to the door of Bath, Pennsylvania-based, Cigars International. As of 2014, CI now falls under the STG umbrella, which was spun off to manage the premium cigar and pipe tobacco business.

CI is the largest tobacco catalog retailer in the US offering popular STG-owned premium brands like Macanudo, La Gloria Cubana, Cohiba, CAO and Partagas in addition to their successful house blends portfolio. What many of the cigar faithful don’t know is that CI also operates 3 brick and mortar superstores in Pennsylvania, one of only 2 US states (the other is Florida) that do not tax tobacco products.

Some say the new facility really puts the squeeze on privately owned humidors and tobacconists by bringing CIs corporate-powered, aggressive sales strategy face-to-face. However, the cigar superstore approach featuring large, stuffed humidors, full service bars and state-of-the art lounges is not new. Offering over a dozen stores throughout the US, Casa de Montecristo (CdM) premium outlets also touts a VIP experience to cigar smokers. Interestingly, CdM is operated by Tabacalera USA who also manages one of CIs largest competitors, JR Cigars. Tabacalera USA and JR Cigars are companies owned by British-based Imperial Brands. Rocky Patel is also jumping into the fray introducing his cigar boutiques, Burn by Rocky Patel.

Whether you prefer to do your cigar shopping online or to get out of the house and share some stogies with friends over an Old Fashioned, CI has you covered. The new store and bar features 7-day availability with generous hours so you can get your fix just about any time of day. – In Fumo Pax!